And I'll be the first to admit it. I was never fond of his books, his characters on SNL were amusing, but never gratuitously hilarious, and I thought that the same warmed-over smarmy attitude would be ill fit for the Senate, regardless of whether he won the election fairly or not.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Txx4EpMXX4M] Which he didn't, by the way, if you agree with Bill O'Riley.
But Franken has done a fabulous job winning over, starting with his solid line of questioning with Justice Sonia Sotomayor (though it was a bit cheesy), continuing with his excellent filmed debate with his own constituents regarding health care, in which he only revealed his pretentious liberal side a few times, and then subsequently apologized for it while defending his viewpoint and perhaps swaying a few opponents.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SCNs7Zpqo98] Watch this, it's pretty enlightening. And no, they're not an "angry mob" as the video's title alleges them to be. Sheesh, the left loves its labels.
And just two days ago, Franken proposed Amendment No. 2588, which has the following purpose: "To prohibit the use of funds for any Federal contract with Halliburton Company, KBR, Inc., any of their subsidiaries or affiliates, or any other contracting party if such contractor or a subcontractor at any tier under such contract requires that employees or independent contractors sign mandatory arbitration clauses regarding certain claims." This is a direct response to the alleged rape of Jamie Leigh Jones, who says that while at a Halliburton/KBR camp in the Green Zone of Baghdad she was raped by several co-workers and placed under guard in a shipping container.
The amendment passed by a vote of 68-30, as it darn well should have, further giving credence to the theory that Franken is a senator who actually has his wits about him, and would like to use his office to actually accomplish something. Also, he made the Republicans look like they're pro-rape (though 10 Republicans did vote for it). It seems as though Franken really is good enough, smart enough and dog-gone it, I like him.
As for Franken's speech on the Senate floor... [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Q5kVbiWnAQ]